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2025 in Review: Media!
Thursday, January 8th, 2026 10:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forestofgloryTime to reflect a little on the media I read and watched in 2025. My reading goal for 2025 was “Reading Joyfully”. I think this worked out ok – I started out putting a lot of pressure on myself about it and stressing out, but then I backed off and used it as an excuse to think about how reading fits into my life these days.
I was somewhat hoping I could get back to really engaging with new to me SFF, and for the most part that didn’t happen. There were a couple of weeks in there where I was sleeping way better than I generally manage these days and I read several new to me books! It was great! So I think part of my problem is that I’m just not well rested enough to engage with new to me stuff very much. Which is sad, but pushing isn’t going to make me happy either.
Then after the thing with the flood damage, when the whole house was a mess, I was struggling to focus on much of anything. I ended up just reading a ton of fic, so much fic.* Which has been delightful. The comfort of the same thing again but different this time is really not appreciated enough by critics. This reading phase has been very joyful!
In 2025 I read even fewer books than I read the last several years (57) but unlike the last couple of years I don’t feel bad about it. Which was the real point of my reading joyfully goal. I’m more at peace with who I am as a reader these days and that’s really nice, even if I might never be the same kind of reader I was before the pandemic happened.
Another trend that defined my 2025 media was crossdressing girls. I love, love, love the trope of girls who disguise themselves and boys to go out into the world and do things that they wouldn’t be allowed to do. This is a trope that English language media hasn’t really been doing much with recently, but luckily for me it's popular in Asian dramas. It’s such a comfort trope for me, and I decided to really dive into this trope and watched many dramas featuring it. (And read a couple of books too)
I also continue to watch many silly Chinese reality shows, another thing that I find relaxing. Media has really was a source of comfort for me in 2025.
In terms of goals for 2026, I’m going to continue to not have a numerical goal for total books. I find those more stressful than fun. Having a theme for my media last year worked out really well though so for the first quarter of 2026 my media theme is going to be “comfort” . Then I can see I want to keep that theme or change at the end of the quarter. I also want to push myself a bit harder on reading Mandarin so I’m going to make it a goal to read six graded readers this year, which feels very doable.
*Me, very stressed out: I’ll just read this cute sounding fic in a fandom I’m not in. It will be relaxing. Me, several days, and I don’t know how many fics in that fandom latter: I guess I have a new fandom now, opps?
I was somewhat hoping I could get back to really engaging with new to me SFF, and for the most part that didn’t happen. There were a couple of weeks in there where I was sleeping way better than I generally manage these days and I read several new to me books! It was great! So I think part of my problem is that I’m just not well rested enough to engage with new to me stuff very much. Which is sad, but pushing isn’t going to make me happy either.
Then after the thing with the flood damage, when the whole house was a mess, I was struggling to focus on much of anything. I ended up just reading a ton of fic, so much fic.* Which has been delightful. The comfort of the same thing again but different this time is really not appreciated enough by critics. This reading phase has been very joyful!
In 2025 I read even fewer books than I read the last several years (57) but unlike the last couple of years I don’t feel bad about it. Which was the real point of my reading joyfully goal. I’m more at peace with who I am as a reader these days and that’s really nice, even if I might never be the same kind of reader I was before the pandemic happened.
Another trend that defined my 2025 media was crossdressing girls. I love, love, love the trope of girls who disguise themselves and boys to go out into the world and do things that they wouldn’t be allowed to do. This is a trope that English language media hasn’t really been doing much with recently, but luckily for me it's popular in Asian dramas. It’s such a comfort trope for me, and I decided to really dive into this trope and watched many dramas featuring it. (And read a couple of books too)
I also continue to watch many silly Chinese reality shows, another thing that I find relaxing. Media has really was a source of comfort for me in 2025.
In terms of goals for 2026, I’m going to continue to not have a numerical goal for total books. I find those more stressful than fun. Having a theme for my media last year worked out really well though so for the first quarter of 2026 my media theme is going to be “comfort” . Then I can see I want to keep that theme or change at the end of the quarter. I also want to push myself a bit harder on reading Mandarin so I’m going to make it a goal to read six graded readers this year, which feels very doable.
*Me, very stressed out: I’ll just read this cute sounding fic in a fandom I’m not in. It will be relaxing. Me, several days, and I don’t know how many fics in that fandom latter: I guess I have a new fandom now, opps?
2025 in Review: Writing!
Wednesday, January 7th, 2026 09:02 amforestofglory2025 wasn’t my best year for writing, I was sleep deprived and not very inspired. But I did manage to write a few longer things so I thought I’d do a quick round up.
I wrote three things for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ladybusiness :
Adventures with Crossdressing Sword Girls
Domestic Labor and Community Building Rec List
Chill Chinese Reality Shows Rec List
I posted one short translation from Classical Chinese:
Magu
And I wrote an annotated bibliography for a friend:
Liao Biblography
I wrote three things for
ladybusiness :Adventures with Crossdressing Sword Girls
Domestic Labor and Community Building Rec List
Chill Chinese Reality Shows Rec List
I posted one short translation from Classical Chinese:
Magu
And I wrote an annotated bibliography for a friend:
Liao Biblography
2025 in Review: Sewing!
Saturday, January 3rd, 2026 09:04 amforestofgloryHere’s a round up of things I sewed in 2025! It was a good sewing year for me. This a lot of pictures so I divided it up into sections.
This year I got back into sewing garments for myself. Here’s some of what I made. (I don’t seem to have taken pictures of everything)
Jacket!
And I made three of these tunics but I only found pictures of two of them
I also made several shirts for the kid, but again didn’t photo document them very well. But here’s one picture:
I sewed a lot of clothing for my 18 inch doll! Mostly Tang dynasty inspired hanfu. I used this project to learn more about hanfu and also pattern drafting. I drafted all the hanfu patterns using a book and I feel more confident about pattern drafting now. (Maybe not confident enough to draft something for me)
Here’s the first outfit I made:
Then I decided I wanted to make a round collar robe for that hufu/crossdressing girl look. I started by making a jacket -- it took several tries to get the pattern right
All those versions really paid off though because my first try and a robe went perfectly:
Then I made a reversible robe – I wanted to do that open collar look I’ve been seeing in dramas
And here’s the second lined robe I made
I also did Tang Dynasty girl outfit:
And in not hanfu doll clothing I altered a pattern so I could make my doll a matching tunic to mine
I didn’t sew a lot of quilts in 2025 – I was working on other things. I did send two quilt tops to a friend to quilt and then finish those quilts though. Here some pictures:
I also sewed up a quilt top which I’d cut out all the pieces ages ago but then left sitting around for a while.
Here’s some in progress shots
And the finished quilt top :
I don’t have any specific goals for 2026 sewing, but I have several quilt tops in various stages of completion that I hope to work on. I also have another top for myself cut out, and some fun fabric set aside for other garment projects. And I have plenty of ideas for more doll clothing too!
Clothing
This year I got back into sewing garments for myself. Here’s some of what I made. (I don’t seem to have taken pictures of everything)
Jacket!
And I made three of these tunics but I only found pictures of two of them
I also made several shirts for the kid, but again didn’t photo document them very well. But here’s one picture:
Doll Clothing
I sewed a lot of clothing for my 18 inch doll! Mostly Tang dynasty inspired hanfu. I used this project to learn more about hanfu and also pattern drafting. I drafted all the hanfu patterns using a book and I feel more confident about pattern drafting now. (Maybe not confident enough to draft something for me)
Here’s the first outfit I made:
Then I decided I wanted to make a round collar robe for that hufu/crossdressing girl look. I started by making a jacket -- it took several tries to get the pattern right
All those versions really paid off though because my first try and a robe went perfectly:
Then I made a reversible robe – I wanted to do that open collar look I’ve been seeing in dramas
And here’s the second lined robe I made
I also did Tang Dynasty girl outfit:
And in not hanfu doll clothing I altered a pattern so I could make my doll a matching tunic to mine
Quilts
I didn’t sew a lot of quilts in 2025 – I was working on other things. I did send two quilt tops to a friend to quilt and then finish those quilts though. Here some pictures:
I also sewed up a quilt top which I’d cut out all the pieces ages ago but then left sitting around for a while.
Here’s some in progress shots
And the finished quilt top :
I don’t have any specific goals for 2026 sewing, but I have several quilt tops in various stages of completion that I hope to work on. I also have another top for myself cut out, and some fun fabric set aside for other garment projects. And I have plenty of ideas for more doll clothing too!
Media Round Up: Loose Ends
Friday, January 2nd, 2026 10:24 amforestofgloryIt’s been ages since I did one of these! But I haven’t been reading or watching much that I want to talk about the last couple of months. I read a couple of things that I just don’t have anything to say about, and a ton of fic which I never include in these round ups. And I’ve watched almost nothing – not even mini dramas
But there’s couple of things I did want to talk about and I thought it would be nice to post about the last little bit of 2025 media before I start a new running notes document for the new year.
Crush of Music—This Chinese reality show is the one thing I have been watching recently. Crush of music is a show where songwriters demo original songs and then through a mildly gameifed process are matched with a singer (or two) who then performs the song. It’s the second season of Melody Journey, but I have no idea why the English title is different (the Chinese title is the same) It's a really fun low stress show and features some of my favorite singers! (Liu Yuning and Zhou Shen) I can't really rec the show though because the subtitles are very very bad -- I'm just watching anyway even though I can only understand about half of what people are saying. But it turns out that not understanding the show makes for very slow watching
Off Menu: A Graphic Novel written by Oliver Gerlach drawn by Kelsi Jo Silva—Cute YA graphic novel in D&D-ish world. It’s about a cook called Soup – kind of a coming of age thing with lots of cooking and community. Very Charming!
The Fellowship of The Ring— R has been reading LotR to the kid, they haven’t quite finished but they are close enough to done that we watched the 1st movie. I’ve never been huge into LotR but it was fun to watch – so many classic lines! I did kinda find myself wishing that the characters' names would show up on screen the first time they appear the way they do in the cdrama I watch. NZ remains very beautiful!
But there’s couple of things I did want to talk about and I thought it would be nice to post about the last little bit of 2025 media before I start a new running notes document for the new year.
Crush of Music—This Chinese reality show is the one thing I have been watching recently. Crush of music is a show where songwriters demo original songs and then through a mildly gameifed process are matched with a singer (or two) who then performs the song. It’s the second season of Melody Journey, but I have no idea why the English title is different (the Chinese title is the same) It's a really fun low stress show and features some of my favorite singers! (Liu Yuning and Zhou Shen) I can't really rec the show though because the subtitles are very very bad -- I'm just watching anyway even though I can only understand about half of what people are saying. But it turns out that not understanding the show makes for very slow watching
Off Menu: A Graphic Novel written by Oliver Gerlach drawn by Kelsi Jo Silva—Cute YA graphic novel in D&D-ish world. It’s about a cook called Soup – kind of a coming of age thing with lots of cooking and community. Very Charming!
The Fellowship of The Ring— R has been reading LotR to the kid, they haven’t quite finished but they are close enough to done that we watched the 1st movie. I’ve never been huge into LotR but it was fun to watch – so many classic lines! I did kinda find myself wishing that the characters' names would show up on screen the first time they appear the way they do in the cdrama I watch. NZ remains very beautiful!
DecRecs 2025 days 22-26-31, The End!
Thursday, January 1st, 2026 08:52 amforestofgloryHappy New Years Everyone! Here's the last several days of DecRecs recs. I have once again recced all the Decs! The last few days I've been really tried and it was bit of challenge to rec stuff but I did it!. I hope you found something to enjoy in all these recs
Day 26
You know how I watched a bunch of crossdressing girl dramas eariler this year? One of them was Sungkyunkwan Scandal - a classic kdrama about a girl who crossdresses to attend an all male school - I liked it a lot!
Anyways after I watched I went to see if there was any fic on ao3. And there was quite a bit most of it centered around a side m/m ship which i hadn't thought much about while watching the show. But after reading the fic I ship it!
This is all a run up to today's #DecRecs which is a fic for that ship!
dark under the lamp by wakeupnew
https://archiveofourown.org/works/28127289/chapters/68916450
I really liked the characterization and how the it added magic elements to the setting in way that felt very natural . Also it's just a lot of fun! (and I think you could read it without knowing the source material)
Day 27
Today for #DecRecs I want to talk about the cool campaign game R and I have been playing: Earthborne Rangers!
It's a solar punk game where you play rangers whose job is to wander around and help people and nature.
Your characters are represented by a deck of cards each. There are some very fun abilities. My character has a pet ferret, and I can summon a friend! R's character can talk beings on walks to bond with them!
Day 28
Today for #DecRecs I want to talk about rotating teapots.
These are really clever gadgets that work pretty much like a gaiwan but with less wrist action which is great for people like me who have hand problems! They also might be good if you find the whole gaiwan thing a bit intimating!
Here's a picture of one so you can see how it works better
( Read more... )
Day 26
You know how I watched a bunch of crossdressing girl dramas eariler this year? One of them was Sungkyunkwan Scandal - a classic kdrama about a girl who crossdresses to attend an all male school - I liked it a lot!
Anyways after I watched I went to see if there was any fic on ao3. And there was quite a bit most of it centered around a side m/m ship which i hadn't thought much about while watching the show. But after reading the fic I ship it!
This is all a run up to today's #DecRecs which is a fic for that ship!
dark under the lamp by wakeupnew
https://archiveofourown.org/works/28127289/chapters/68916450
I really liked the characterization and how the it added magic elements to the setting in way that felt very natural . Also it's just a lot of fun! (and I think you could read it without knowing the source material)
Day 27
Today for #DecRecs I want to talk about the cool campaign game R and I have been playing: Earthborne Rangers!
It's a solar punk game where you play rangers whose job is to wander around and help people and nature.
Your characters are represented by a deck of cards each. There are some very fun abilities. My character has a pet ferret, and I can summon a friend! R's character can talk beings on walks to bond with them!
Day 28
Today for #DecRecs I want to talk about rotating teapots.
These are really clever gadgets that work pretty much like a gaiwan but with less wrist action which is great for people like me who have hand problems! They also might be good if you find the whole gaiwan thing a bit intimating!
Here's a picture of one so you can see how it works better
( Read more... )